When I was a wee lad of six or seven years, the family TV in the den went
kerflooey, and my dad upgraded us to a positively gigantic 27-inch console
television, complete with a remote control, which alleviated one of my many
jobs around the house. this was, of course, back in the day when you didn’t
carry your own TV home and set it up. A technician delivered it and plugged
it in, and before he could get my dad’s signature on all the deliver papers and
get out the side door, I had the back panel of the TV off and was exploring its
interior. that’s just the kind of kid I was.
This newfangled contraption perplexed me,
though, and as the delivery guy was sneaking out
the door, I yelled out, “Wait! They forgot to put
the tubes in it!” My dad turned scarlet. My mom
left the room. But the delivery guy smiled and said,
“These new TVs don’t have tubes in ’em, son.”
“But how am I supposed to fix it when it
breaks?” I hollered out in dismay.
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| If you haven’t dealt with a tube amp in a while, setting up a Black Magic 20 is a wholly different experience than setting up a solid-state amp. |
I pass along that anecdote because, for all
practical purposes, when that delivery guy carted
off our old and broken TV, that was pretty much
the end of my real, long-term relationship with
vacuum tubes. I’ve heard my fair share of hi-fi
tube amps through the years, but I haven’t really
lived with them. Not until Bob Carver’s VTA20S
Black Magic 20-Watt Amplifier showed up on my
doorstep.
Before we dig into the sound of the Black Magic
20, let’s talk a bit about aesthetics and setup,
because if you haven’t dealt with a tube amp in a
while, it’s a wholly different experience than setting
up a solid-state amp. The four tubes, for example,
don’t come installed. You have to plug them in
yourself.
And really, that’s the extent of it. The tubes
aren’t matched. You don’t have to do any biasing
yourself. Plug the right tubes (12AX7Bs for the
input stage, EL84Ms for the output stage) plug in
the power cord, attach the speaker wire of your
choice (Straight Wire Encore II in my case) to the
unbelievably gorgeous binding posts, fire it up,
and the Black Magic 20 is ready to make beautiful
music.
And what beautiful music it makes. I started
off on a lark with a pair of MartinLogan Purity
electrostats, because those are the speakers I intend
to build my two-channel system in my office around,
and I have to admit to being a little underwhelmed
by the sound at first. My gut reaction was to chalk
this up to ESLs being traditionally harder to drive,
but that doesn’t make sense, given that the Purity
is a pretty efficient speaker, and its specs indicated
that 20 watts are enough to drive it. I won’t try to
explain it, but the sound wasn’t to my satisfaction.
I figured perhaps a smaller bookshelf speaker was
more the Black Magic 20’s speed, so I connected a
pair of SnapAV 700 Series Monitors, plugged my
turntable straight in (a note on that in a moment),
and bathed in the delicious analog-ness of Greg
Laswell’s Landline on vinyl. Yes, I’ve admitted time
and again that I’m very much a digital audiophile,
and I still very much lean in that direction, but
there’s something about dropping a piece of vinyl
on a record player that connects the listener with
the music in a tangible way, and the Black Magic
20 very much heightens that. The glow of the tubes.
The simplicity of construction. The lack of digital
display.
The thing is, this doesn’t really sound like any
tube amp I’ve ever heard. A lot of the distortion
that we often describe as “tube warmth” is subdued
here. It’s an incredibly quiet amp, and a lot of
the analogness comes through in an incredibly
detailed sound that isn’t dry and analytical. It’s
sweet without being cloying, and without ever
masking the nuances of the recording. It also gives
a wonderful depth and dimensionality to the sound.
Music isn’t a thing that’s happening over there in
the speakers, but out here, in the room.
Just for giggles, I also hooked up the MartinLogan
Motion 40 towers that I’m reviewing in the den, and
was shocked at how hard the Black Magic 20 rocked
them. Forget the numbers. The Motion 40 may be
rated at 300 watts apiece, but this little overachiever
drove them with plenty of headroom, specs be
damned. Granted, bass wasn’t quite as oomphy as I’m
used to hearing from the Motion 40s via the Anthem
D2v and A5 amp in the den, but it’s a different kind
of bass–not as strong, sure, but more deft and nimble.
Not better or worse, but as I said: different.
And although, as I said, the Black Magic 20 can be
used without a preamp, owing to its built-in volume
knob (an analog potentiometer, by the way, so if
you’re used to the ultra-smoothness and consistency
of modern volume knobs, give yourself a bit of time
to get used to it), it does sound better when cranked.
So if you prefer lower listening levels, a preamp may
be in order. That’s especially true if you want to
use multiple sources. I disconnected the turntable,
though, and hooked up my Autonomic MMS-2
Mirage Media Server, because that’s where most of
my music comes from, and I love the way the Black
Magic 50 sweetens even the–gasp, I know–mp3s in
my collection. Not, perhaps, as transformative as the
effect of the PSAudio PerfectWave DAC I reviewed
a while back, but in a different way, it’s still an effect
I very much like.
Really, though, what I like best about the Black
Magic 20 is not only the tactile qualities of the amp
itself, but also the subtle tangibilities it imparts to
the sound. I also love that, should one of the tubes
blow, the end user (or you the installer) could easily
replace one or all with a few tugs and a satisfying
push. It puts you in touch with the music in an
unquantifiable way. And in a way, it puts me back
in touch with my rascally childhood. That may be
an effect you can’t measure, but, as the Black Magic
20 demonstrates, measurements aren’t everything.
859.258.9794
www.bobcarver.com
Kudos
Bob Carver’s VTA20S Black
Magic 20 Watt Amplifier is
an incredibly simple, beautifully
performing tube amp
from one of the industry’s
true legends. it delivers the
richness and tactile qualities
that tube amp aficionados
love, without so many of
the quirks.
Concerns
At $2,100, this 20-wattper-
channel stereo amp
might be a hard sale for customers
who aren’t familiar
with bob carver’s status in
the industry. I’m not saying
it’s not worth it; I’m merely
saying that it’s not what
you’d call a budget amplifier.
Product Specs
• Number of Line Inputs: 1
• Input impedance: 100 k ohms
• Input Stage: 2x 12AX7b
current sourced low noise
valve
• Output Stage Configuration:
1 complementary set of
El84ms per channel
• Output tube plate voltage:
408v
• Output Tube Idle Power:
10.6W
• Rated Power: 20 watts per
channel in stereo or 40
watts in mono
• Warranty: Amps 7 Years, Tubes 1 Year